How is the city so desolate (Mauersberger)
How is the city so desolate ( RMWV 4/1 ) is a funeral motet . The Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger composed it under the impressions of the destruction of Dresden in the Second World War based on texts from the lamentations of Jeremiah for the Dresden Kreuzchor . The motet is part of Mauersberger's Dresden cycle , traditionally it is performed before the Dresden Requiem . It is composed a cappella for four to seven-part mixed choir .
History of origin
After Dresden was destroyed in World War II, Mauersberger fled to his hometown of Mauersberg in the Ore Mountains. Here he read the Lamentations of Jeremiah on Good Friday, the text of which went very well with past events. Mauersberger selected the most expressive sentences from the five chapters. The autograph of the motet is from Holy Saturday (March 31st) 1945. On August 4th, 1945 it was premiered in the first Vespers of the Dresden Kreuzchor after the war in the burned out Kreuzkirche .
Text selection
The following text of the motet is juxtaposed with the passage from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Mauersberger used Martin Luther's translation .
How is the city so desolate that was full of people. ( Klgl 1,1 LUT )
All of its gates are barren. ( Klgl 1,4 LUT )
How the stones of the sanctuary lie in
front on all the streets. ( Klgl 4,1 LUT )
He has sent fire from on high
into my bones and let it rule. ( Klgl 1,13 LUT )
Is that the city that is said
to be the most beautiful, which
the whole country is happy about. ( Klgl 2,15 LUT )
She would not have thought
that she would end up like this; ( Klgl 1,9 LUT )
she is too horrible
and has no one to comfort her. ( Klgl 1,9 LUT )
That is why our hearts are saddened
and our eyes have become dark: ( Klgl 5,17 LUT )
Why do you want to forget
us so completely and leave us for life! ( Klgl 5,20 LUT )
Bring us, Lord, back to you so
that we can come home again! ( Klgl 5.21 LUT )
Renew our days as before. ( Klgl 5,21 LUT )
Oh Lord, see my misery! ( Klgl 1,9 LUT )
When structuring the text of the motet, Mauersberger did not orient himself to the structure of the lamentations. Lamentations 1, 2 and 4 complain about the destruction of Jerusalem, in songs 3 and 5 an admission of guilt is made to God and asked for the end of the disaster. Mauersberger does not accept the confession of sins and the affirmation of God's judgment in his text compilation . He ignores the acceptance of God's judgment and describes the misery for God's judgment. God's judgment is not affirmed, it is not understood - the why is emphasized. Mauersberger does not consider the possibility of personal guilt, the confession of sins cannot be found in his selection of texts. Only the request for mercy is formulated. The bond with God is close despite the calamity and should be strengthened. With the line of text Bring us back to you the momentary godlessness is shown, from which only God can lead out. The way Mauersberger arranged the texts is due to his constitution after the bombing of Dresden and is completely understandable . It was not Mauersberger's intention to set the lamentations to music, but to depict his own suffering through them.
Mauersberger's selected texts can be divided into three sections. The first part describes the misery and need in the city. The four-time question "Why" opens the second part, in which the bewilderment and the request for mercy are described. In the third part from “Oh Lord”, people implore God to take part in the misery.
Musical implementation
The work is composed in F minor and is in 3/4 time . The motet can be divided into twelve sections, in which each verse seems to be placed in a harmonious context and each word seems to be set individually. For implementation, Mauersberger used, among other things, key relationships , dissonances as well as conventional tonal movements or chord sequences without a clear tonal reference.
How is the city so desolate, which was full of people - bars 1–8
With half a dotted note the word "how" open Old and bass , the piece - old with f1 and bass (an octave) with f and F . The following two words "lies the" are sung in the same way on the same note. In the second bar, soprano and tenor set in on the third beat . Like alto and bass, they are performed in the same rhythm. The four-part F minor tonic is reached in the fourth bar to the word “city” (bass f , tenor c1 , alto f1 and soprano a flat1 ). The three flat vowels “i” are followed as a pure F minor chord in the word “city” by the open and dark “a”, thus representing the enormous dimension of the city. Mauersberger puts a dull A minor chord on the word “wüst”, the syllable of which is led in a tone sequence ( melisma ) to F minor, so that the chord appears resigned. To the constant bass note F , the upper three voices rise from the octave to the third position of the F minor chord to the words "which was full of people". In the Melisma, alto and tenor gradually lead the “was” downwards. In this downward movement, Grün sees the end of the time in which the city had enormous dimensions. Soprano and bass keep the f too “was”. During the melisma is the tenor of b over as the tot out. Since Gs predominates in the first verse , Grün suspects that Mauersberger wanted to represent the submerged city using the past Phrygian church key (with f as the keynote).
All of its gates stand dreary - bars 9-15
The rhythm in all voices is determined by the sequence of half and quarter notes, with the exception of two short melisms, the text is set to music by syllables (syllabic), reminiscent of the weighing of a plaintiff. The four to five-part movement goes from F minor to the subdominant B flat minor . After a melisma lasting two bars, this stands on “dreary” at the end of the verse. The word "dreary" is also represented by fifth and fourth parallel movements .
How are the stones of the sanctuary scattered in front of the streets - bars 16–24
All voices have f at the beginning of the verse. Bass and alto read their text syllabically and hold the f in the following bar with the words "How are they". Soprano and tenor rise gradually in octave parallels and lead to the six-part B flat minor chord in the word “stones”. An A minor transition leads from the word “des” to the word “sanctuary” in D flat major . This leads to a renewed fifth / fourth parallel movement in the words "in front of all streets" through a melisma expanded in the range of notes over A flat major , B flat minor , F minor and G flat major .
The word “sanctuary” has seven voices, so that this is also symbolically represented by the holy number 7 .
He has sent fire into my bones from on high and let it prevail - bars 25-30
The first climax of the work is reached in the five- to seven-part verse. The narrative speed is increased from quarters to eighths to sixteenth-note figures, making the text sound like spoken. This causes a break with the song-like flow of the preceding bars. The word “height” reaches the top note of the entire composition. Soprano 1 sings b2, and the choral movement again consists of seven voices, which in turn is supposed to represent divinity in numerical symbolism. The gradient in the choir structure with the words “sent from above into my bones” is followed for the third time in the work with the words “and let it rule” a fifth / fourth parallel movement as in bars 21 to 24.
Is that the city that is said to be the most beautiful of all, that the whole country enjoys - bars 31–45
The fifth verse begins cautiously, only a few perform the four bars of the preface “Is this the city one says of” pianissimo . The entire choir sings pianissimo piano "she is the most beautiful", the flawlessness and loveliness of the destroyed city is traced in the sound. After a prelude of three quarter notes, syllabic in all parts, to “she is she”, follows a seven-part D flat major chord. This also determines the next nine measures until dispatch. Here, too, D flat major and seven voices stand for holiness and underline the almost sacred, immortal beautiful nimbus of this city . Melisms with a wide range support this picture and draw it soft and colorful, which makes it stand out from the rest of the work, which is kept tart. In the following clause “the whole country is happy”, the movement goes back to four voices, the enthusiasm is lost in sobriety and reality and ends in A flat major.
She didn't think that she would last like this - bars 46–49
This passage is sung in four parts as a recitative . The soprano sings the text with repetition tones that are closely determined by the word style, while the harmony voices syllabically endure the text “she is horrible” for the whole bar. The notes move from F minor, as a parallel key to A flat major, via B major to F minor and E flat minor as a subdominant to B minor of the following verse. With the recitative and the clear sound in the solo performance, Mauersberger wanted to emphasize the text, which describes the ignorance of the Dresden population during the disaster.
It is too horrific and has no one to comfort it - bars 50–58
In this verse the disgrace of the city is reported, the choir repeats syllabically "it is too horrible". The word “pushed down” is formed by movements parallel to fifths / quarters, in which the entire choral structure is led down almost an octave and a half with a final fourth. This emotionally aroused passage is followed by the grieving lament “and there is no one to comfort her”. The desolation of the city is marked by empty fifths, deep bass tones and descending lines. The only chromatic line of the motet is set in this verse. In measure 57, the descending tones es1, d1, des1 and c1 of the alto voice symbolize the descent of those seeking consolation. The verse ends with an empty fifth on f .
That is why our hearts are grieved and our eyes have become dark - bars 59–67
With this verse the account of the calamity of the city closes. It is sung by the solo quartet. The course of the nine bars is determined by the F minor tonic. Especially in the top three voices, they consist of groups of three gradually descending quarters. Although these downward movements start anew each time, the impression of a descending line is created. Twice there is an empty fifth (on c ), which represents the hopelessness, and the first part of the motet ends.
Why do you want to forget us so completely and leave us for life - bars 68–85
The content of the second part begins with the four five-part chords in F minor, A flat major, C minor and F minor to the words “Why, Why”. The syllables of the word “why” are accompanied by dotted half notes, half notes and quarter rest. The four chords are performed in crescendo and forte . Green sees in it a rise to God. The question "Why, why" follows again with increasing tones, this time half note and quarter note are set to the syllables of the word. Then the choir puts the question emphatically in C major , the key is used for the first time. The question is a complaint about being abandoned by God. The second part of the question “and we leave us for life” sounds more depressed, as if the answer is no longer expected. The bars beginning with F minor allow fateful devotion to penetrate, even if in connection with A flat major as a reminder of the happy times of the city and D flat major as hope for the intervention of holiness. However, the verse ends in F minor as a sign that there is no hope.
Bring us back to you, Lord, to come home again - bars 86-97
This verse, which is sung by a four-part boys' choir or high voices , evokes the connection to God. Godlessness is the reason for the calamity, man has recognized that, through closeness to God this can be turned around again. The request is sincere and full of hope. Mauersberger achieves this effect through a chorale - like, song-like melody that is sung by the soprano, as well as through a harmonious course of the movement, which is set in major. The verse begins in F minor, but is already led to A flat major after the first bar. In general, A flat major and D flat major dominate, which stand for beauty and holiness throughout the work.
Renew our days as before - bars 98-107
The entire choir makes this request in five parts. Soprano and bass go together in octave parallels, creating a framework that offers warmth and protection. The verse ends with the longest melisma of the motet, which extends over six bars. With this rich sequence of notes, Mauersberger recalls the abundance of the past. It starts with F minor and changes via C major to the only F major of the piece. This commitment represents the returning courage in the hopeful plea to return home to God. This ends the second part, which began with the shocking accusation of God.
Oh Lord, see my misery! - bars 108–126
In the last part and at the same time the last verse of the motet, pain and despair come out again. Soprano and alto hold the F major chord of the previous verse in five voices. But you immediately take over the lawsuit that bass and tenor raise with "Oh Lord". At the end of the word “misery” the choir has seven voices, in a passage that, unlike all other passages in the piece, does not announce holiness or the presence of God. The hopelessness prevails, expressed by fifths / fourths parallels that lead down to the final F minor. The last bars fade out in syllabic all-bar chords, soft and fading. The work ends with a very low F minor chord (c1 – as – as – f – F), the starting point of the work has been reached - misery and despair.
literature
- Matthias Herrmann : Rudolf Mauersberger catalog raisonné . 2nd Edition. Saxon State Library, Dresden 1991.
- Matthias Grün: Rudolf Mauersberger studies on life and work . 1st edition. Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg 1986, ISBN 3-7649-2319-9 .
- Matthias Herrmann: Kreuzkantor zu Dresden Rudolf Mauersberger . 1st edition. Mauersberger Museum, 2004, ISBN 3-00-015131-1 .
Notes and individual references
- ^ The catalog raisonné Rudolf Mauersberger writes 4-8st. Matthias Grün and other sources speak of a seven-part composition.
- ↑ Claus Westermann . Calwer Biblical Studies. Old Testament, Apocrypha, New Testament . Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7668-3714-1
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Matthias Grün: Rudolf Mauersberger studies on life and work . 1st edition. Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg 1986, ISBN 3-7649-2319-9 .